Formula 1 returns from its mini-break with a trip to the Circuit of the Americas, kick-starting the next triple-header.
Lando Norris dominated the Singapore Grand Prix last time out but still faces an uphill battle to overcome Max Verstappen in the race for the drivers’ title, even with McLaren now ahead of Red Bull in the constructors’ standings.
With off-track headlines again dominating ahead of the weekend, it was Carlos Sainz and Ferrari that got off to the best start – the Spaniard and Charles Leclerc taking a 1-2 in the only practice session. Who will take pole for the Sprint? Sprint Qualifying is under way at 10:30pm BST.
By:
Ewan Gale
That’s all from us for today but we will be back for live coverage of Sprint and qualifying.Ā
Read the full report from Sprint Qualifying here.
Thank you for joining, bye!
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
A reminder that the Sprint is the next session, so no practice early tomorrow.Ā
After the Sprint, there’s a new parc ferme window before qualifying proper sets the grid for the race.
Verstappen: “We had a good day. Sprint quali is always difficult, you never know how much you can push. The car was working quite well.”
Hulkenberg deserves great credit for his performance – he is just three-tenths away from top spot for Haas across a 93-second lap. That’s pretty stellar.
Ferrari must be wondering how neither driver made it to the top after the day it has had.
But Leclerc made a big error in the Esses – somehow keeping it all pointing straight over the bumps – and Sainz similarly erred at the final corner.
We said it looked ominous in SQ2 when Verstappen was within himself and so it proved.Ā
That’s Verstappen’s first pole of any kind since Imola.
Hulkenberg goes sixth ahead of Hamilton, with Magnussen eighth, Tsunoda ninth and Colapinto 10th.
Leclerc couldn’t beat Russell but Verstappen could! By 0.012s the Red Bull goes on Sprint pole. A huge marker in the title race.
The flag drops as Sainz comes across the line, only second after a mistake at the final corner.Ā
Norris is next but still only second.
Sainz and Norris match each other in sector one but neither have the overall best time. How will the laps unfold?
So Russell’s time to beat is a 1m32.845, Hamilton is four tenths adrift but now, with 90 seconds remaining, the Ferraris begin their laps.
No further action on the Gasly/Colapinto incident from SQ2.
Meanwhile, replays show Hamilton losing all grip at T12 and almost following Colapinto.
Hamilton: “Come on guys, that was not good.”
But Russell was way faster at the end of the lap, going faster than Hamilton for the first time this weekend.Ā
Colapinto went for a spin at T12 which briefly brought out the yellow flags but no major damage done.
Hamilton is four-tenths up on Russell in sector one alone…
Soft tyres are now mandatory, so let’s see what the times look like as Russell sets off on a lap with a load of rear diff-slip out of the first corner.
It’s just eight minutes for this session and it’s just the two Mercedes drivers and Colapinto on track. Hamilton is not sure about the decision to go out early in the session.
Anyway, cars are on track with SQ3 under way!
Colapinto: “Man Gasly, what the f**k! I almost crashed.”
Gasly was apologetic but Colapinto was definitely blocked into the esses, even if it was on an in-lap. That’s been noted.
While we take a short break from the on-track action, we have bib story updates!
Colapinto is also through. I mean, the kid’s good, isn’t he?
Ā
What all that does mean is that Haas has a double top 10 for the Sprint at its home race.Ā
What a great effort!
Lawson ran wide at T1 on his lap which would have ruined his time, while Alonso has his lap deleted and drops to P15.
Alonso can manage only P12, Stroll only P15 which will be a disappointment for Aston Martin.
The bottom five now begin to cross the line to try and get into the top 10 as the chequered flag flies.
Gasly just misses out, as does Lawson on his second debut. But Tsunoda DOES knock Perez out. Yikes.
Verstappen team radio: “I’m struggling a lot with the ride.”
His time says otherwise.
Perez meanwhile is some half a second down after two sectors of the lap.
That turns into a 1m34.244s, which is slowest of the 10 to have set a time so far.Ā
Verstappen is nowhere near the track limits on his lap but is only missing 0.024s to Sainz as he slots into second.
That’s ominous from the Red Bull, who was clearly driving within himself.
We still have the two Red Bulls to run, with both Astons, both RBs and Gasly still in the garage.
Sainz puts Ferrari back on top with a 1m33.274s – that’s just under a tenth up on Hamilton, with Leclerc third.
Russell is then two-tenths down on the second Ferrari.
Russell sets the benchmark for the session but is instantly bettered by his team-mate.
Norris can’t match the Mercedes duo but does slot in ahead of Magnussen and Hulkenberg.
Russell is on a lap and needs to find a bit of time to match Hamilton on what we’ve seen today.Ā
The Mercedes looks far better than it did in practice though, much more stable.
Medium tyres again for this 10-minute session, though a fifth of that time has already gone by the time a fast lap starts.
SQ2 is go. Pretty relentless isn’t it?
The mistake came at T19 on that crucial lap. A nightmare for the Australian.
That’s Norris’s rear gunner gone for the Sprint and whilst there are less points on offer, every point counts.Ā
That’s score one to Red Bull and Verstappen this weekend.
No it’s not. Piastri is OUT.
The McLaren driver crossed the white line and gets his lap deleted. He drops back to 16th, Gasly goes through and Piastri is out.
Both Saubers, Ocon and Albon are also eliminated.
That’s all from us for today but we will be back for live coverage of Sprint and qualifying.Ā
Read the full report from Sprint Qualifying here.
Thank you for joining, bye!
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB20
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
A reminder that the Sprint is the next session, so no practice early tomorrow.Ā
After the Sprint, there’s a new parc ferme window before qualifying proper sets the grid for the race.
Verstappen: “We had a good day. Sprint quali is always difficult, you never know how much you can push. The car was working quite well.”
Hulkenberg deserves great credit for his performance – he is just three-tenths away from top spot for Haas across a 93-second lap. That’s pretty stellar.
Ferrari must be wondering how neither driver made it to the top after the day it has had.
But Leclerc made a big error in the Esses – somehow keeping it all pointing straight over the bumps – and Sainz similarly erred at the final corner.
We said it looked ominous in SQ2 when Verstappen was within himself and so it proved.Ā
That’s Verstappen’s first pole of any kind since Imola.
Hulkenberg goes sixth ahead of Hamilton, with Magnussen eighth, Tsunoda ninth and Colapinto 10th.
Leclerc couldn’t beat Russell but Verstappen could! By 0.012s the Red Bull goes on Sprint pole. A huge marker in the title race.
The flag drops as Sainz comes across the line, only second after a mistake at the final corner.Ā
Norris is next but still only second.
Sainz and Norris match each other in sector one but neither have the overall best time. How will the laps unfold?
So Russell’s time to beat is a 1m32.845, Hamilton is four tenths adrift but now, with 90 seconds remaining, the Ferraris begin their laps.
No further action on the Gasly/Colapinto incident from SQ2.
Meanwhile, replays show Hamilton losing all grip at T12 and almost following Colapinto.
Hamilton: “Come on guys, that was not good.”
But Russell was way faster at the end of the lap, going faster than Hamilton for the first time this weekend.Ā
Colapinto went for a spin at T12 which briefly brought out the yellow flags but no major damage done.
Hamilton is four-tenths up on Russell in sector one alone…
Soft tyres are now mandatory, so let’s see what the times look like as Russell sets off on a lap with a load of rear diff-slip out of the first corner.
It’s just eight minutes for this session and it’s just the two Mercedes drivers and Colapinto on track. Hamilton is not sure about the decision to go out early in the session.
Anyway, cars are on track with SQ3 under way!
Colapinto: “Man Gasly, what the f**k! I almost crashed.”
Gasly was apologetic but Colapinto was definitely blocked into the esses, even if it was on an in-lap. That’s been noted.
While we take a short break from the on-track action, we have bib story updates!
Colapinto is also through. I mean, the kid’s good, isn’t he?
Ā
What all that does mean is that Haas has a double top 10 for the Sprint at its home race.Ā
What a great effort!
Lawson ran wide at T1 on his lap which would have ruined his time, while Alonso has his lap deleted and drops to P15.
Alonso can manage only P12, Stroll only P15 which will be a disappointment for Aston Martin.
The bottom five now begin to cross the line to try and get into the top 10 as the chequered flag flies.
Gasly just misses out, as does Lawson on his second debut. But Tsunoda DOES knock Perez out. Yikes.
Verstappen team radio: “I’m struggling a lot with the ride.”
His time says otherwise.
Perez meanwhile is some half a second down after two sectors of the lap.
That turns into a 1m34.244s, which is slowest of the 10 to have set a time so far.Ā
Verstappen is nowhere near the track limits on his lap but is only missing 0.024s to Sainz as he slots into second.
That’s ominous from the Red Bull, who was clearly driving within himself.
We still have the two Red Bulls to run, with both Astons, both RBs and Gasly still in the garage.
Sainz puts Ferrari back on top with a 1m33.274s – that’s just under a tenth up on Hamilton, with Leclerc third.
Russell is then two-tenths down on the second Ferrari.
Russell sets the benchmark for the session but is instantly bettered by his team-mate.
Norris can’t match the Mercedes duo but does slot in ahead of Magnussen and Hulkenberg.
Russell is on a lap and needs to find a bit of time to match Hamilton on what we’ve seen today.Ā
The Mercedes looks far better than it did in practice though, much more stable.
Medium tyres again for this 10-minute session, though a fifth of that time has already gone by the time a fast lap starts.
SQ2 is go. Pretty relentless isn’t it?
The mistake came at T19 on that crucial lap. A nightmare for the Australian.
That’s Norris’s rear gunner gone for the Sprint and whilst there are less points on offer, every point counts.Ā
That’s score one to Red Bull and Verstappen this weekend.
No it’s not. Piastri is OUT.
The McLaren driver crossed the white line and gets his lap deleted. He drops back to 16th, Gasly goes through and Piastri is out.
Both Saubers, Ocon and Albon are also eliminated.
